Kelsey has been a skier since the age of 3. She’s responsible for organizing the 55 trail chiefs who maintain the 300 miles that make up the trail.

“With all of the fresh powder this year, the Nordic Center has been packed,” Kelsey said. “Families come back after three or four hours just covered in snow, grinning ear to ear.”

Cottrell said along with clearing his eight-mile section of the trail by keeping it about 4 to 8 feet wide, and 10 feet high, he takes it upon himself to maintain a good working relationship with the landowners.

The Catamount Trail crosses the property of more than 150 landowners, equating to about 80 miles of the trail.

The Catamount Trail Association is a member-supported, nonprofit organization with the purpose of building, maintaining and protecting the Catamount Trail that extends the length of Vermont, from the Massachusetts border to Quebec.

“We have permission from these homeowners, but as property is sold, it gets complicated,” Kelsey said. “We are working to move the trails to lands that are conserved. It’s an ongoing process.”

The Bolton Valley Nordic and Backcountry area is more than 90 kilometers of groomed and backcountry trails. The Catamount Trail runs directly through the property, and there are connections to other popular backcountry routes and to the Long Trail. The land is also a critically important watershed and wildlife habitat area.

Catamount Trail Association is hosting an event to teach skills and explore Bolton’s backcountry. The fifth annual Get Out and Backcountry Ski Festival will take place on Jan. 27.

Rich Larsen said backcountry trail skiing is a good way to get out in the winter. “Backcountry trail skiing opens up a whole new world,” he said. “The leaves are gone. There is more to see. Bolton has so much to offer back here.”

The Vermont Land Trust is working to raise more than $1 million to permanently protect the public’s access to more than 1,100 acres of Bolton Nordic and backcountry land that the Ski Festival utilizes and explores. If successful, the land will be transferred to the state of Vermont as an addition to Mount Mansfield State Forest.

The Vermont Land Trust has raised 85 percent of the total amount needed to permanently conserve this land. Visit the Vermont Land Trust’s website at www.vlt.org/bolton to learn more about the campaign or to donate.

Also this year is the Trapps to Bolton Backcountry Race and Tour, hosted in conjunction with the Catamount Trail Association, the Bolton Valley Nordic Center, and Trapp Family Lodge on March 10. The event will explore the Bolton to Trapp section of the Catamount Trail.